| THE RIGHT SURF BOARD
As a beginner, you are better off hiring a board.
A "foamie" is the place to start. Indeed, if you go
to a school, you can bet that this is what you will
use. A foamie is wide, long and buoyant; thus giving
you the best chance of remaining balanced once you are
on your feet. It is soft, therefore reasonably safe
to hit yourself or others with (by accident!).
Once you have mastered the foamie, you will be ready
to purchase your first board. This is the most important
thing to get right, and incredibly personal. You will
have to decide between a longboard, shortboard, weight,
dimensions etc., new or second hand. Try out as many
styles of board as you can before you buy. Ask your
mates to borrow theirs. Hire different lengths, widths,
fin configurations and get an idea of what is right
for you.
If you are still beginning, you might like to try a
"mini-mal", (short for mini malibu). These are buoyant,
wide, quite long (usually a couple of feet taller than
yourself), and easy to catch waves on. Once you progress,
you might consider a thruster, which is short with a
pointed tip. The thrusters are less buoyant, therefore
harder to use, but can be steered very easily, enabling
one to do tricks. Mini-mals generally go in a straight
line. Have a talk with your local surf shop to get
their expert advice.
If you have the cash it is always worth considering
having a board made for you. To do this you will have
to find a reputable shaper and get a board made to suit
you. A good shaper will not mind spending half an hour
or more talking through options. They'll explain terms
you're unfamiliar with (rocker, v's, nose width, rails,
coats, etc), find out what your experience is and how
you hope to progress. You'll be able to choose your
own graphics and colour schemes, and hopefully end up
with a board that will suit you now and give scope for
your future progress! How do you find a "reputable
shaper"? Word of mouth. Ask people. Read surf mags.
When you hear the same name crop up a few times, give
him a go.
Once you have spent all that cash of a board, get
yourself a board bag to help look after it. It might
look cool to drive around town with your baby strapped
to the roof for all to admire, but you'll be picking
flies out of the wax and stones out of the fibreglass
before too long. You can always get hold of second hand
board bags, but if you've paid upwards of £300
for your board, or if you intend to travel with it,
invest in a new 5mm or greater board bag, it is an investment
and will prolong the life of the board and make it less
suseptible to damage (dings).
WAX
Wax goes on top of the board to provide a grip for
you feet. Before getting into the water, you should
always wax the entire deck and side edges. There are
different waxes for different temperatures of water.
Use soft wax for cold water, and harder wax for warm
water. If you board becomes clogged with wax, you can
rough it up with a wax comb, or once in a while, scrape
all the wax off and start again.
There are stick-on deck grips (like those nasty suction
things you put in the shower to stop you from slipping).
These are not recommended for beginners, as you may
not get your feet in the right place every time.
LEASH
One end of the leash is attached to the board, and
the other, around your ankle. Its main purpose is to
keep you and your board together. Always make sure
the leash fits around your ankle well, and is easy to
release (in an emergency). The leash is very important,
it is imperitive that you and your board do not become
separated, a loose board in the water is dangerous (the
question always comes to my mind - where is the surfer?)
and if you get into difficulties it is better and more
comfortable to wait for help whilst sitting on or hanging
on to your board.
continued on getting
started surfing page 2
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